Sunday, February 1, 2009

Laces of the Upper Kingdom


The Sun King gave us good grace today, coming under the 30 degree Celsius mark. I was to move a trailer load of furniture but Dad's car decided it wanted to overheat instead, so we've put it off till tomorrow.

So I took the day as a 'spare' and went into town for a little thrifting. The highlight of the haul was a ravaged old book from the 40s on human physiology. It looks to be a re-print from an earlier time, but it has lots of wonderful pictures that I can utilise in a project or two I have in mind.


I love the way the whole book is starting to decompose- this is what like best about books, when they've been scribbled on and read and bent back and repaired and broken again; they stop becoming a practical item designed to hold information and start becoming objects. Like a mummy suddenly re-discovered, this book frittered page scrap and binding dust to the wind when I opened it to examine the origami folds on it's tattered brown paper wrapper.


I also found a large bunch of deep crimson red feather roses (fake flowers made from feathers, they're creepy and beautiful), vintage lace and doilies to dye, a fantastic Denby casserole dish without the slightest imperfection and a teeny tiny gold and silver heart charm.


Additionally there was also two bags of vintage nana hankies- there are some really gorgeous pieces in there and I'll devote a post to it when I've moved house. I've started collecting vintage handkerchiefs lately, their cotton is so soft from washing and washing and folding, hidden in pockets and used over and over. They're perfect for lining things.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

fabulous haul penny! that tiny heart pendant is beautiful.

sorry i'm a bit slow on my blog reading... yay! you're coming to the uk, i know it's a while away but i'm excited to see what you create when you're here :) it will certainly be a bit cooler than the weather you're having just now. have you ever thought of moving here permanently, if yopu feel so at home?

as you know, it's always a pleasure to include your work in a treasury :)

cheers,

emma
x

Penelope said...

Hi Emma- you're not that slow, I only have 539 posts to read on mine and I'm all caught up! ._.

I am reallllly looking forward to coming to the UK- I am thinking of making my stay more permanent, depending on if it's as wonderful as I hope it will be. The idea is to get really rich so I can fly back over here every winter. ;)

ink and ginger said...

What a good haul!

I found your blog off LittleRobot's and I'm very taken with it. Your photography is lovely - the diffused quality of your natural light especially.

Artsnark said...

I too spotted you at LittleRobot. Lovely blog here. That book is a great find!

Unknown said...

What great finds! I love how you photographed it all so beautifully as well. From the same grandmother and other ladies in my photos, I got gorgeous hankies that I used to tie my hair back with-they are all in a box somewhere-way too pretty to throw out ever! Glad you had a bit of a break from the heat. We are getting more snow here! Wish I could send some your way for sure.
Take care!

Anonymous said...

Oh what wonderful finds,,,the book is wonderful, old books are one of my joys to find. Laces,,,well I am a lace-o-holic. And proud of it. Your photo's are wonderful.

Lorie McCown said...

Nothing like the spoils of a good hunt! That erroding book is wonderful. They even smell interesting, don't they. Sending some cool air your way..
Lorie

Dawn said...

The feather flowers sound so beautiful!! You should take pictures!

Eggman Studios said...

Wow! That book looks absolutely heavenly. I can almost feel its crinkled pages and smell the wonderful mustiness through my computer screen. Gorgeous!